The Honeywell HTF 7000 bypass turbofan engine is typical of the engines used on commercial business jets. Business jet engines require periodic inspection and repair that may require removal of the engine from the aircraft.
Removal of an engine from an aircraft is expensive in that it requires not only the investment in disconnecting and reconnecting the engine from the aircraft but it may also require a test flight of the aircraft once the engine has been reattached. Typically, conventional inspection or repair of the aft portion of the HTF 7000 engine required that the engine be removed from the aircraft. The inlet spinner was removed from the engine and the engine was positioned with the longitudinal axis being vertical and the inlet portion of the engine being down. Thus positioned, the engine could be disassembled from the aft and relevant portions of the engine could be inspected and repaired as needed.
While disassembly of the HTF 7000 from the rear of the engine with the engine remaining on the aircraft presents many advantages, heretofore, tools and procedures for effectively doing so were unknown.